Chocolate Cake
335g Butter
335g Caster Sugar
5 Eggs
255g Self Raising Flour
75g Cocoa Powder
Chocolate Frosting (Inside)
75g Butter
175g Icing Sugar
1 TBSP Cocoa Powder
1 TBSP Milk
Decoration
1 400g Pot of ready made chocolate frosting
2 Bags of chocolate eyeballs
100g White Chocolate
Pink Food Colouring
Line and grease three 20cm sandwich tins and preheat the oven to 180C, Gas mark 4.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little bit of flour after each addition to avoid the mixture curdling.
Fold in the remaining flour and cocoa powder and mix gently until well combined.
Divide the mixture equally between the three tins and bake for 22 minutes until firm to touch, or that a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tins.
To make the chocolate frosting, place the butter into a mixing bowl and beat until light and soft. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until fluffy. Add in the milk and cocoa powder and beat gently until well combined, fluffy and spreadable.
When the cakes are cooled, place the bottom layer on a cake board or serving dish of your choice. Place a three inch round cookie cutter in the middle of the layer and score out the middle, do not go all the way down to the bottom of the layer. Take a cupcake corer or apple corer and take out the middle of the circle you have just made with the cookie cutter. You do not want to go all the way to the bottom as this will hold the cake, you just want to take out the first two thirds of the layer. This will hold the chocolate eyeballs in place.
Do not disregard the cut out cake bits as you will need these later on.
Spread a thick even layer of the chocolate frosting on top of the bottom layer.
Take the second layer of cake and cut out the middle completely this time with the cookie cutter. Make sure that you cut the hole in the same place as the first layer. Then place on top of the second layer and push down.
Spread a thick even layer of the chocolate frosting on top of the second layer and then add the chocolate eyeballs into the middle of the cake. Place the third layer of chocolate sponge on top and push down.
Using the remaining frosting, use a straight pallet knife and cover the entire cake in a thin layer. This is called the crumb coat and will lock the crumbs in place when covering the cake in the second coat of chocolate frosting. Pop the cake in the fridge for an hour to set the crumbs in place.
Take the cake out of the fridge and using the same process as before place the ready made chocolate frosting around the cake using a straight pallet knife, only this time you want more frosting around the cake. Take a cake scraper and go around the sides of the cake to make the frosting straight and smooth with no bumps. You will have excess frosting so just scrap it onto the side of a bowl or plate.
When it comes to the top of the cake, use a smaller pallet knife and level out the top. You will then notice where the top and sides meet, it will need knocking in to create a smooth edge. To do this use the cake scraper to knock the frosting in and level it out.
Place the cake back in the fridge for an hour to set.
Meanwhile, to make the pink ganache, melt the white chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water.
Add in a small amount of pink food gel or colouring and mix together. Add more gel/colouring until you reach a flesh like colour. Leave to cool and thicken slightly.
Once the ganache has thickened place it inside a disposable piping bag.
Take the cake out of the fridge and pipe the ganache around the edge of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.
With the remaining chocolate frosting pipe rosettes on top of the ganache. Then place a chocolate eyeball on top, so that the eyes are looking up at you.
Crumble over some of the remaining cake onto the rosettes.
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